Montreal, Canada Travel and Holiday Guide

Old Montreal

The Travel Blogger — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:48:18 +0000

Vieux-Montreal also called as Old Montreal in English, you can find this tourist attraction in the area of Ville-Marie in the streets of McGill, Saint Antoine and Berri and by the river of Saint Lawrence River at the south of Old Montreal. This is the oldest part of Montreal where its structures and buildings dates back from the 17th century to the 20th century, though there are some buildings which are of modern style already. This was used to be the city’s downtown until when the streetcars disappeared and one of the oldest urban district not only in Canada but in Northern America. Old Montreal is also has city walls called which were built in 1717 that has been destroyed in the 19th century but there are still some remnants left of the walls. In this old city, you will still find the important buildings and mansions and it is well preserved such as the Montreal City Hall, the Bonsecours Market, and the Chateau Ramezay. You can also find here the historic building of Sir George-Etienne Cartier National Historic Site of Canada. In the southern part of the Old Montreal, you will find the Notre Dame de Montreal Basilica and the Sulpican seminary. Also you can find here the bank of Montreal building and the oldest skyscraper, the 1888 New York Life building also. The street of Saint Jacques Street was the financial center of Canada. And the southwest of the old city has the archaeological remnants of the Place d’Youville and the Place Royale.
You can also find some museums in the area and you can check them out when you get to visit the Old Montreal. The best time to visit Old Montreal is between the months of May and September, it is much nicer if you visit the area during these months and especially summer when you can see people walking through the streets of Old Montreal. Although you can find the museums and other attractions to be open here in the months of October to April. You can find also do some skating in the winter in the old port in Old Montreal.

Notre Dame Basilica

The Travel Blogger — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:47:44 +0000

The Notre Dame Basilica or in French it is called the Basilique Notre Dame, it is located at the area of the Old Montreal, at the Notre Dame Street West and at the Saint Suplice Street near the Place d’Armes. This is one of the architectural structures that revive the Gothic style era. This is one of the most dramatic basilicas in the world, with a deep blue ceiling, with golden stars and the rest are of azures, gold, purples and many others. The stained glass windows for this basilica do not show the religious figures or events unlike the usual windows of most churches have, rather in this church they have their history being shown on their windows. One also of the famous things that you can find here is the Casavant Freres pipe organ which has four keyboards and 7000 individual pipes.
The most popular events that have happened in the Notre Dame Basilica are when the state funeral of the 15th Prime Minister, his eulogy was held here and the wedding of the famous Canadian singer Celine Dion in the year 1994.
You can visit the basilica from Mondays to Fridays, eight in the morning to four thirty in the afternoon and on Saturdays it’s open eight in the morning up to four fifteen in the afternoon, and every Sundays it is open twelve thirty in the afternoon until four fifteen in the afternoon. For those who will only want to visit the basilica, they have admission fees for that but it is free when you will go there to hear mass. During Tuesdays to Saturdays there is a show that they showcase in the evening that details about the history of this basilica entitled, ‘And Then There Was Light”. And every Christmas, they have musical performances of the Handel’s Messiah. This has been a tradition to the locals to attend these performances during Christmas.

Museum of Archaeology and History

The Travel Blogger — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:46:56 +0000

The Museum of Archaeology and History or the Pointe a Calliere Museum, situated at the heart of the birthplace of Montreal. This is where the colony of the city took place in 1642. This is a historical site which was the place where the natives’ campsite and artifacts have been found here. This museum comprises of six structures, these are the Eperon, the Ancienne Douane, Archaeological Field School, Place Royale, Youville Pumping Station and Mariners House. The Eperon building is the entrance of the museum; here you will find a theatre which shows a short film about the history of the place, it also has dominant triangular tower. You can also find here a restaurant and an exhibit called; ‘Where Montreal Was Born.’ The Ancienne Douanne is a building which was designed by the British architect John Ostell in 1836; this was used to be the first Montreal Custom House. Now it has a gift shop and an exhibition entitled ‘Montreal Love Stories – The Cultural Connection.’ The Archaeological Field School, this building is of the 19th century and has museum researches. The Place Royale, has an archaeological crypt underground where it connects the buildings of Eperon and Ancienne Douanne. During summer this place caters concerts and shows. The Youville Pumping Station is the first wastewater pumping station in Montreal. Now it showcases the preserved electrical equipments such as the motors, valves and many more. And lastly the Mariner House, this is where the Montreal Sailors’ Institutes was put up in 1895. Mariners come here when they have stopovers to stay but now it is a museum with rooms which can be used for workshops.
The museum is open ten in the morning until five in the afternoon; this is from Tuesdays to Fridays and opens eleven in the morning until five in the afternoon during Saturdays and Sundays. This is from September to June only. When it’s during the months of July to August, the museum opens from ten in the morning until six in the evening this is only from Mondays to Fridays and on Saturdays and Sundays, they are open eleven in the morning and six in the evening.

Mont Royal

The Travel Blogger — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:45:54 +0000

Mont Royal translates to Mount Royal in English; this is the mountain that is situated on the island of Montreal. It is part of the Monteregian Hills; this comprises three peaks, the Mont Royal Proper, the Mount Murray and the Westmount. This is where the Mount Royal Park is located; the park is of a hundred one hectare of a park that on Mount Royal. This is mostly where the locals of Montreal go to whenever they want to unwind and would want to jog, to walk or just would want to picnic or just simply just want to set their eyes on the view of the horizon.

The mountain is also home to the other parks and cemeteries. This is also a protected cultural and natural region in Quebec; its organization Mount Royal Natural and Historical District is located here. You can also find here the Jeanne Mance Park, which has courts, such as for tennis, football, and baseball. There is also a pool for children. This also has the transmission tower of the CBC, it has two buildings, these transmission towers are for television and radio broadcasts. The two cemeteries such as the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery and the Mount Royal Cemetery is where you can find it here. Just outside the Mount Royal Park, you can find some of the Montreal’s landmarks, the St. Joseph’s Oratory, McGill University and the two hospitals, Royal Victoria Hospital and the Montreal General Hospital and others.

You can go to this park anytime; you can take the Cartier monument trail on the side of the Park Avenue or you can take the bus number 80 or number 129, or you can go to the metro station and take the bus 11. You can also drive your way up the hill; there are also parked areas where you can park your vehicle.

Montreal Weather and Time

The Travel Blogger — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:44:23 +0000

Montreal’s weather and climate is of the humid continental classification, in which this place have seasonal temperature, which the temperature will have its seasonal changes from the warmest to the coldest months, the degrees can be of 33 degrees Celsius and can go up to 15 degrees Celsius. Montreal experiences rainfall very often and it is abundant and also has an average snowfall every year. Though its summer is also the wettest season but still it is the sunniest one. January is the coldest month for Montreal, usually the temperature for this month can actually go low up to negative 10 degrees Celsius to negative 15 degrees Celsius which is colder than the cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg in Russia. One of the lowest temperatures that was recorded and hit Montreal was negative 36 degrees Celsius on the 1st of August in 1975. Most often this is due to the wind chill which is usually lower than the temperature itself and oftentimes it is included in the weather forecasts in Montreal. July is the warmest month of Montreal which has a 20 degrees Celsius up to 26 degrees Celsius temperature. Montreal also experiences high humidity when its summer and they also experience Indian summers. Indian summer occurs in late October or early November, this is a period where you can experience warm weather in autumn. This usually lasts for a few days or up to a week or so. In the year 2006 and also only this year that Montreal experienced more rain than snow and more than the city of Vancouver.
The local Montreal time is of Universal Coordinated Time or Greenwich Mean Time behind five hours and Montreal is of Eastern Standard Time. The daylight savings starts on March, they set the local time backward for one hour and they set the time forward when it’s November.

Montreal Restaurants

The Travel Blogger — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:43:42 +0000

There are numerous restaurants in Montreal which you can choose from when you want to dine in. Like all the big cities, there is always diversity when it comes to cuisines since Montreal is a city where there are lots of immigrants from the different countries in the world. The most prevalent restaurants that you will find here in Montreal are French restaurants in which are also similar with the Canadian cuisines and the Quebecois cuisines; they are also the Asian cuisines which you can find here, American and Italian Restaurants. There are also numerous restaurants which you can have your desert or coffee and hang out.
Some of the best restaurants which you can dine in Montreal are the Beaver Club, the Chez L’Epicier, the Jun I, the Moishes and the Le Club Chasse at Pete restaurants. These are some of the best restaurants which you can find here in Montreal, the Beaver Club restaurant has a wine cellar and their specialty includes poached salmon, rib of beef, this restaurant serves continental type of dishes. And during Saturdays, they have live music and dancing in its restaurants. The Chez L’Epicier is a Canadian or the Quebecois restaurant which serves the foie gras with gingerbread and with duck juice and etc. They serve here freshly made dishes. If you want to try the Quebecois cuisines, check out this restaurant located at the Saint Paul in Montreal. The Jun I restaurant on the other hand is a Japanese restaurant, they serve here the best sushi and other Japanese dishes. The Moishes restaurant is a Canadian restaurant which serves the best steaks in Montreal; they also have here veal, salmon and other dishes and they also have here some impressive list of wines. Lastly the Le Club Chasse at Pete serves mostly dishes that are of fish dishes and also they serve seared bison and many more.

Montreal Nightlife

The Travel Blogger — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:42:58 +0000

Montreal is called as the sin city, one of North America’s Sin Cities when it comes to its night life. Most of the restaurants and clubs here are still open up to the morning. The city is still alive when it comes to wee hours in the morning, in fact their transportation services are still operating between one and five in the morning, this is the night buses which have services every fifteen minutes during that hours. You won’t even have to worry when you will go home late from clubbing and bar hopping. Here in Montreal they are not even strict with the drinking age when it comes to bars and clubs. Montreal is also one of the gay destinations in northern America and they have here the popular gay clubs such as the Unity, Stereo and bar Le Drugstore which you can find these gay bars at the Saint Catherine Street and also at this area you will also find movie theatres, restaurants, shops, strip clubs and many more.
The best places also to be in Montreal during its nightlife is the Crescent Street where it is near in one of Montreal’s Universities, the Concordia University. This street is actually called the party central for the tourist. This street has numerous of bars and clubs. The crowd here are mostly tourists and students. The bars and the clubs that you will see here are the Brutopia, Hurleys Irish Pub, Mad Hatter Saloon and many more. This is party central is accessible because the nearest subway here are Peel and Guy-Concordia. One also of the areas where they have the best nightlife here in Montreal is the Saint Laurent Boulevard where this have bars, clubs and restaurants. The music that is being played here in the clubs and bars are from techno to rock and some urban and underground music. In the Prince Arthur Street and the Sherbrooke Street are also some of the areas where you can also find the places to spend your nightlife in Montreal.

Montreal Festivals

The Travel Blogger — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:40:48 +0000

Montreal has undoubtedly has numerous of festivals that they have been celebrating each month. This is also called the city of festivals. Most of its festivals happen during summer but there are festivals that are held every month. Two of the most important events that are being held here in Montreal are the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the Montreal Francofolies. These festivals are being celebrated in a span of a week or so. The Montreal International Jazz Festival is the biggest jazz festival that is being celebrated in the world. This is held annually in Montreal and it’s always in the summer season usually first week of July. This festival are being participated by jazz artists from all over the world, this festival also attracts tourists from millions of people. This event lasted for two weeks and downtown is closed due to some shows that are being held in downtown Montreal and its shows are free and that are from all the jazz clubs and the main event for this festival is being held at the Place des Arts. Also one of the biggest festivals that are celebrated here from last week of July to the first week of August is the Montreal Francofloies or the Les FrancoFolies de Montreal; this is also held annually in Montreal. This also attracts tourists. This is a festival that showcases more than one thousand French-language artists that are from all over the globe and this is one of the largest musical events of the French speaking communities. This is also being held at the halls of Places de Arts. You can also check out the most popular event is the Just For Laughs festival which showcases the talents of comedians, and stand ups from different countries. There is also the Montreal Fireworks Festival, and also some other festivals such as the Pop Montreal and the Fringe Festival.

Montreal Botanical Gardens

The Travel Blogger — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:39:36 +0000

Montreal Botanical Gardens also called as the Jardin Botanique de Montreal, is one of the largest botanical gardens in the world. This is second to the botanical garden in London, the Kew Gardens. You can find these botanical gardens in the park area of the Olympic Stadium; this is at the street of Sherbrooke. These botanical gardens have greenhouse complex with plants that are from all over the world and it is of 20,000 plant species that you can see here and with numerous outdoor gardens with themes. There are thirty one gardens and some of these themed gardens are the Chinese Garden, the Japanese Garden, the First Nations Garden and the Alpine Garden.
Its Chinese Garden is the largest Chinese garden in the world which is not in Asia. This garden has winding paths, Chinese style house and a man made mountain and with numerous Chinese plants. The Japanese Garden has also a Japanese style building, also with Japanese plants and has vast variety of bonsai plants and a koi fishpond. In its building you can find a performance on a tea ceremony and also some Japanese arts such as laido and the flower arrangement, the Ikebana. The First Nations Garden has exhibits of the traditional artworks of the Native Americans and its methods. And also in this garden, you can find here the Canadian plants such as the maple, pine trees and many more. The Alpine Garden is basically a garden full of alpine plants. You can also find some squirrels, ducks and some wildlife in these gardens.
There is payment to every admission to these botanical gardens but the residents of this city can actually avail for the free admission passes to the gardens. They can visit the outdoor gardens, free between five in the afternoon up until nightfall. These outdoor gardens are covered with snow in the months of November to April but their greenhouses are open all year round for visitors.

About Montreal

The Travel Blogger — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:38:31 +0000

Montreal was called Ville Marie which means the city of Mary, though some historians would actually believe that the name Montreal derived from the French word Mont Real. This city is of a three-head hill, and its name was given initially to this island as Mont Real or pronounced as Mount Royal in French. This is the second French speaking city in another country after Paris. The language is widely used in the homes in Montreal and it is of 70.5% of the city’s population and making the English language as second that is being used. This city was the first French settlement in 1642 and founded by Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve and also the first hospital was also built, this is the Hotel Dieu.
Now Montreal is one of the most important cities in Canada, for this is the center of commerce, finance, world affairs and many others. Montreal has the industries that include electronics, telecommunications, textile manufacturing, and aerospace and so on. The aerospace jobs here in Montreal are of the 4th largest one in North America. The Port of Montreal also has been one of the largest ports and this is also where the shipment of grain, sugar and consumer products and so on comes. You can also find here the head quarters of some agencies like the Canadian Space Agency, the International Civil Aviation, the Gay and Lesbian International Chamber of Commerce and the other sixty international organizations. Montreal is also rich of its universities and research centers.
This is also where the center for the industry of film and television are located. The headquarters for the Alliance and the National Film Board of Canada is based here and also the head office of the Telefim Canada. They also have cultural and film festivals that are being held here and home of the Cirque du Soleil, a cultural enterprise. This city was named the City of Design by UNESCO due to its community design and also one of the design capitals of the world. Montreal was also ranked as one of the cleanest cities in the world.